Skype Intros Free Calls to Landlines, Mobiles in US and Canada

Skype, a provider of Internet phone services, today announced that all US and Canadian-based Skype customers can now make free SkypeOut calls to traditional landline and mobile phones in the US and Canada. Previously, Skype users in both countries were required to pay for Skype calls from their PCs to traditional telephones.

Skype is popular with many podcasters because it can be used to digitally record phone calls for use in podcasts. The basic service allows free long-distance calls to any Skype user. The addition of SkypeOut lets users make free long-distance calls to traditional and mobile phone users.

The company has made this move in order to rapidly expand its user base. ‚ÄúWe believe free SkypeOut calling will rapidly accelerate Skype adoption in the US and Canada,‚Äù said Henry Gomez, General Manager, Skype North America.

Free SkypeOut calls to the US or Canada will be available to US and Canadian-based Skype users until the end of the year.

While SkypeOut calls within the US and Canada will now be free, SkypeOut calls to and within all other countries will continue to incur charges. Those charges are unchanged by today‚Äôs announcement and remain among the lowest available to consumers.